


I Only Pray You Never Leave Me Behind

by SallyWhite92



Series: Long After You're Gone [3]
Category: Zootopia (2016)
Genre: Angst, Drunken Kissing, F/M, Fluff, Fluff and Angst, Kissing, Mentions of past abuse, POV Alternating, Pining
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-01-25
Updated: 2017-01-25
Packaged: 2018-09-19 20:13:05
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 7,871
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/9458714
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/SallyWhite92/pseuds/SallyWhite92
Summary: Two months after she's shot, Judy's sister comes to visit. During her visit Finnick takes a liking to her, having to work past some old demons just to accept it and have some fun. But this sister has some demons of her own...





	

**Author's Note:**

> this thing is so long. so. friggin. LONG. in total it's 20 pages long on word and over 7000 words. what have i done lol. so this is a formal introduction to my OC, Angelica Hopps-McConey. i tried really hard to make her interesting and not a mary-sue and i hope i succeeded. if you think i didn't, well, she's not going anywhere lol. she's gonna be a pretty big part of this verse. so i'm sorry if you don't like her or this, i really am. but i had good time writing it so i'm hoping you will have a good time reading it.

“C’mon, Nick, hurry!” Judy clutched at her boyfriend’s paw, dragging him through the train station towards the platform. Her nose was twitching with excitement, her ears up and her feet barely able to stay on the ground.  
  
“Carrots, calm down, you’re gonna pull my arm off,” the fox chuckled as he followed her, shades on and his usual neutral expression on his face.  
  
“I just don’t want to miss it, okay?” She let go and hopped up and down, looking down the tracks to see if she could spot the train coming.  
  
A paw grabbed her by the sleeve and pulled her back, almost knocking her off balance. She turned her head to glare at the source. “What??”  
  
“Staring down the train ain’t gonna make it come any faster, Flopsy.” Finnick raised an eyebrow at her, letting go of her sleeve to light a cigarette and take a puff from it.  
  
Judy took the cig from his mouth with a hard look. “And smoking these doesn’t make you cool, Finn. It’s illegal to smoke in the station, you know that.” She put it out before throwing it on the tracks, hoping no one had seen that. “Remind me why I invited you along.”  
  
“Because I had nothin’ else to do.” He reached up to tug on her ear playfully, chuckling when she slapped his paw away and stuck her tongue out at him. “And you’re so eager to introduce your sister to everyone, apparently.”  
  
“Which one is she, again?” Nick asked, stepping up to Judy’s other side and taking her paw in his.  
  
She smiled up at him, giving his paw a squeeze. “Angelica. She’s older than me, by three years. She’s really cool, you guys are going to love her.”  
  
“Somehow I doubt that,” she heard the fennec fox murmur to which she gave him a firm jab to the ribs. He grumbled but didn’t make another comment.  
  
She heard the sound of the train horn and her ears shot up, violet eyes going wide with excitement as it pulled into the station. She was bouncing again when the doors open, the only thing keeping her from rushing onto the train to see her sister was Nick’s firm hold on her paw.  
  
Mammals started getting off the train and Judy worried that she would lose her sister in the crowd. “Nick, lift me up!” The fox gave her a strange look before shrugging and bending down so that she could climb onto his back. She narrowed her eyes, looking around from her higher vantage then grinned wide. There she was! She waved excitedly, almost knocking both her and Nick other. “Angie!”  
  
A tall brown rabbit looked over at them, her eyes hidden by sunglasses. As soon as she saw Judy her muzzle split in a huge smile. She took the glasses off as she waved with her free paw, the other holding the handle of her suit case. “Little bug!”  
  
Judy scrambled off Nick’s back, knocking him over in her eagerness. “Sorry!” she said quickly to him before dashing through the crowd. When she saw her coming, Angelica quickly dropped her bag so she was able to catch her sister when she threw herself at her. Judy laughed, leaning back to look into her sister’s blue eyes. “Angelica!”  
  
“Judy!” The brown bunny laughed and hugged her sister again, squeezing her gently. “Oh, my bug, it’s been too long.” She pushed her back so she could look her over. “Did you get shorter? Or is just those hips?” She winked and bumped her hip against Judy’s side.  
  
Judy rolled her eyes though kept an arm around her sister. “Haha, very funny.”  
  
“I’m your sister, kid, it’s my job.” Angelica picked up her bag and looped her arm through Judy’s, grinning at her.  
  
Judy rolled her eyes and turned her head just in time to see Nick and Finnick making their way to them. She pulled her sister over to the foxes, letting go of her arm and bouncing over to Nick, taking his paw in hers. “Angie, this is Nick, my boyfriend. Nick, this is my sister, Angelica.”  
  
“Good to meet you,” the red fox said smoothly, holding out his free paw to the brown rabbit.  
  
Angelica took his paw in hers and gave it a firm shake. “And you, Mr. Nick. Hopefully you’ve met enough of our other siblings so that I don’t have to give you the ‘if you hurt her’ shpiel.”  
  
“I think it was Jared who gave me that one,” he told her, letting go of her paw with a chuckle.  
  
“Good, then I don’t have to waste our time with it.”  
  
“And this is Finnick,” Judy introduced the fennec fox, gesturing to him.  
  
The smaller fox nodded to the rabbit. “Yo.”  
  
Angelica raised an eyebrow at him. “Short words from a short male, how fitting. Are you always this articulate?”  
  
“Angie!” Judy’s violet eyes went wide with horror. Oh no. Not this again.  
  
Finnick’s lips drew back to show his canines, glaring up at Angelica. “I usually got more to say but I didn’t think an Amazon like you needed words. I didn’t know they made bunnies this big.”  
  
Judy held her breath, her grip on Nick’s paw tightening enough for him to let out a whimper. Angelica was the tallest in their family and she had always been sensitive about her height. Her eyes flew to her sister, hoping she wouldn’t be too upset.  
  
Instead of flying into a rage like Judy expected, the tall bunny merely smirked down at the fennec, crossing her arms over her chest. “Big isn’t a bad thing, sweetheart. But that isn’t anything you would know about, is it?” Her eyes glanced down at Finn’s crotch before she looked him in the eye, one eyebrow raised.  
  
Nick burst into laughter when Finnick started sputtering. “I like her!” he told his girlfriend, wrapping an arm the taller bunny. “She’s got spunk!”  
  
“You have to learn to take a hit when you grow with as many siblings as we have,” Angelica commented, grinning up at the red fox before pulling away and handing him her suitcase. “Make yourself useful and carry this for me, will you?”  
  
“Yes, ma’am!” The two trotted off towards the parking lot, chatting away. Judy hung back to walk with Finn, who was fuming as he stomped after them.  
  
“Finn, I’m so sorry about my sister, she’s normally more reasonable.”  
  
The fennec glanced over at her before huffing and stuffing his paws into his pockets. “Some mouth she’s got on ‘er. Is that why she’s single?”  
  
“Well, no.” Judy looked ahead at her sister. “Angelica’s actually a widow, her husband died a few years ago. Freak tractor accident.” She turned to her friend, giving his shoulder a squeeze. “I’ll talk to her, okay? See if I can’t get her to apologize.” She skipped ahead to catch up with them, unaware of the shell-shocked look she had left Finnick with.

* * *

They all went to a bar later that night, to celebrate Angelica visiting Zootopia for the first time. Finnick found it hard to believe that it was her first time in the city, considering she didn’t live that far. It must have been a small-town bunny thing, staying away from the big city, preferring to stay in their tiny ass towns. Whatever. Like he gave a damn.  
  
…expect he did. A little bit. Not that much, though. She was the one who had started throwing shade first, he refused to feel bad for defending himself.  
  
Even if she was a widow…  
  
He heard someone sit down beside him and glanced over before frowning. Speak of the devil, there she was, sitting down next to him. He didn’t say anything, just turned back to his drink to take another gulp. Alcohol, he needed more alcohol.  
  
“You haven’t said a word to me since the train station,” she said, taking a drink of her fruity cocktail.  
  
He almost made a snarky remark but just barely held it in, grunting as he took another swig.  
  
Angelica sighed and smoothed down her dewlap, glancing over at him. “Look, I was out of line, I shouldn’t have been such a bitch. I’m sorry.” She held out a paw to him. “We cool?”  
  
Finnick glanced at the paw then back to her before slowly taking it, giving it a shake. She had quite the grip, there. “Sure.” He let go and raised an eyebrow at her. “What brought this on?”  
  
“You’re important to my bug, so I figure I might as well get along with you.” She glanced over to the dance floor where Judy had dragged Nick, watching as the two bumped against each other and giggled. She looked back at him and smirked. “Besides, you don’t seem so bad. You can hold your own against me, that’s pretty impressive.”  
  
“You think real highly of yourself, don’tcha, sweetheart?” The comment was out of his mouth before he could stop it and he quickly turned away from her, glaring at the bar counter. Stupid, stupid!  
  
Luckily she seemed to take this very well, as she just chuckled. “Well, you have to when you’re one of literally thousands where you live.” She looked at him, a twinkle in her blue eyes.  
  
He couldn’t help it, he snorted as he rolled his eyes at her, turning his head to look at his friends on the dance floor again. Nick was trying to be his usual sly self but Finn could tell that the drinks were starting to get to him. And Judy…well, she was just having a good time. She was always able to do that, no matter what was going on. It was good to see her back on her feet after everything.  
  
“I wanted to thank you.”  
  
Finn blinked and turned his head to stare at the bunny beside him. “For what?”  
  
“For saving her.” Angelica was staring at the bar now, tracing patterns in the wood with a blunt claw. “You’re the one who was with her when she was shot a couple of months ago, and I just…” She bit her lip before looking at him again. “Thank you. Without you, my little bug might not be here today, and that’s not something that any of our family would have been able to take.” She gave him a smile, the first genuine one he’d seen all day.  
  
She was…cute, he realized with a jerk. He knew it was a bad word to call bunnies but he couldn’t think of anything else to say about her. With her white dewlap, her brown fur, those ears, her shining blue eyes…she was just really cute. She almost reminded him off—  
  
_No, don’t go there. Don’t think about her, not now._  
  
Finn turned away from her, gulping down the rest of his drink before answering her. “She would have done the same for anyone else. I wasn’t about to let her die.”  
  
She hummed and he could feel her eyes on him, making the fur on his arms stand up. She asked suddenly, “Are you in love with her?”  
  
He sputtered and looked at her, his eyes wide and his mouth agape. “Wha—No, of course not! Why would you—??”  
  
She was laughing now and he realized he was being made fun of again. He huffed and turned away from her, flagging down the bar tender to get him another drink. “And give her another of whatever she has,” he added, jerking his thumb towards Angelica. It was more of an afterthought but maybe it would get her to shut up.  
  
“Why, thank you, sir,” she purred, her eyes shining as they made contact with his. He ignored the way it made his stomach do a flip.  
  
“You’re welcome,” he muttered, just managing to keep his expression neutral. _This doesn’t mean anything, she’s Flopsy’s sister, you just need to be nice.  
  
…but damn is she cute.  
_

* * *

“Well would you look at that.”  
  
Judy looked over at her boyfriend, having pulled him off the dance floor to get more drinks. She tilted her head, blinking. “What, what is it?”  
  
The fox pointed and she followed along until she saw what he was referring to. Finnick and Angelica were sitting at the bar, the fennec seeming to be tolerating the taller doe as she laughed and grinned at him. It was an endearing sight for sure, since she never really saw Finnick with anyone other than them.  
  
Judy looked at Nick again, still confused. “So?”  
  
He chuckled and wrapped his arms around her, pulling her against his chest. “This is the first time Finn’s talked to anyone since he put that bitch in the home.”  
  
She wanted to scold him for his language but thought better of it. “So this is a good thing?”  
  
“Very. I think Angelica could be good for him.” Then he was kissing her before she could say anything else, making her melt against him and her mind go blank, forgetting about Finnick and her sister for the time being.

* * *

As the week went on Finnick saw more of Angelica than he thought he would. Judy insisted that he go out every night with her and Nick and her sister, wanting her sister to have an “authentic Zootopian experience.” It sounded like a bunch of bullshit to him but he went along with it. After all, he wasn’t going to protest getting to drink every night. Especially the nights when the bunny and red fox paid for them.  
  
And Angelica…she was something else, that bunny. Sassy, witty, with legs that seemed to go one for forever. He could deny any attraction her felt for her for the first two nights, but night three made his head reel.  
  
Someone at the bar had made a comment about her drinking and how “a sweet bunny like you can’t possibly hold all of that alcohol.” Finn saw the flash of determination in her blue eyes, so much like her sister’s, and he knew that shit was about to go down.  
  
“Oh? You think so, huh?” Angelica threw her head back, her ears standing straight up as she looked over at him. “Finnick. Order us a round of shots. I’m about to show these boys how it’s done.”  
  
“You sure you can handle that, sweetheart?” He raised an eyebrow at her and immediately regretted it when that he saw that flash again. Oh shit.  
  
She leaned towards him, getting so close to his face that their noses were almost touching. Her proximity made his heart race and he fought the blush he felt rising in his ears. The smirk on her face told him that she saw it anyways. “I bet I can outdrink you.”  
  
This caused his own muzzle to split in a smirk, his lip rising to show his canines. “You sure you wanna make that bet? I’ve been doing this a lot longer than you.”  
  
“Is that a challenge, little man?”  
  
“It’s whatever you want it to be, Amazon.”  
  
And that’s how it started. Finnick and Angelica downed shot after shot, with the mammals around them goading and cheering them on. To his surprise and dismay, the taller bunny was able to out-last him after he collapsed onto the bar, unable to take any more. She downed two more shots before she fell off the stool, giggling and babbling about being able to take him and “I win, I win, I win~!” Judy and Nick had to hold them up as they left the bar that night and he just kept staring at Angie, wondering how the hell she had done that, she was so small.  
  
Also why the hell did she seem so appealing to him now?  
  
The next night was much tamer, having learned his lesson about challenging her. They went to the bar he worked at and he was able to score them some free drinks. Finnick was content to nurse his drink much slower tonight, watching as Judy and Angelica chatted away, about what was happening in the burrows and how their jobs were going. Angelica was a preschool teacher, he learned. How fitting for a rabbit, though he didn’t dare say it out loud.  
  
At some point some ridiculous pop song came on and the sisters perked up, grinning at each other. The bunnies giggled as they left their bar stools and rushed to the dance floor, and once they got there they started moving. And boy…did they move. Those hips…Finnick quickly looked away before anyone could catch him staring, silently cursing at himself. What the hell was wrong with him, she was bunny and he was a fox, it was stupid and impossible and he just…he couldn’t….  
  
“She sure is something, isn’t she?” he heard Nick mumble, not having to look at his friend to know that there was a stupid love-struck smile on his face.  
  
He chanced another look at the dance floor and almost regretted it when he saw Angelica hip bump her sister before twirling around, laughing, her blue eyes shining, so much like--  
  
_DON’T._  
  
He glared down at his reflection in his drink, cursing himself over and over in his brain. “Yeah. Sure.” He gulped down the rest of his drink and crossed his arms over his chest, suddenly unable to wait to get back to his van so he could yell out loud. What the hell was he doing??  
  
When he got home that night he dropped onto the mattress in the back of his van and stared at the ceiling, scowling and snarling to himself, “What the fuck are you doing?? You can’t do this again, don’t be fucking stupid! Ugh!” He threw his arm over his eyes and growled, low in his chest. “Don’t be stupid. You can’t betray her like this. You just can’t. You owe her that much…” He fell asleep repeating that to himself.

* * *

“So what’s going on with you and Finn?” Judy settled into the bed next to her sister, curling up on her side as her violet eyes looked at her sister expectantly.  
  
Angelica blinked, her expression one of surprise. “What do you mean, little bug?”  
  
“He just keeps staring at you when we go out. And he’s been buying your drinks for you.” She grinned and took Angie’s paw in hers, giving it a squeeze. “So? You can tell me, I won’t tell!”  
  
“Nothing is going on, I promise.” The taller bunny chuckled as she gave her sister’s paw a squeeze before pulling it away, tucking it under her head. “I’m pretty sure he doesn’t even like me. He hasn’t spoken a word since I out-drank him the other night.”  
  
“Yeah, you two were pretty unreasonable.” Judy shook her head with a smile. “But I don’t think he doesn’t like you. If that were the case he wouldn’t keep going out with us.”  
  
“Then why don’t you tell me what’s going on, since you seem to know him so well.”  
  
“I really don’t know.” Judy rolled over to lay on her back. “Maybe he’s trying to make up for being an ass at the train station.”  
  
“I was the one who was an ass, and we already resolved that the first night.”  
  
“Then I don’t know!” Judy huffed and crossed her arms, pouting at the ceiling.  
  
There was a bit of silence between them before Angelica asked, “Did you tell him about Bill?”  
  
Judy winced and glanced over at her, an apology written all over her face. “I might have mentioned it…”  
  
The other bunny’s expression hardened. “That might be why.”  
  
“I don’t think he pities you, Angie,” she said quickly, rolling onto her side to face her sister again. “Finn isn’t like that, I promise.”  
  
“Then what is he like?” It wasn’t said with any malice, just pure curiosity, but it made her stop and think. It really wasn’t her place to tell, but…  
  
“Finn is…complicated. He’s had a lot happen to him, kinda like you, but different? He’s a good guy, a really good guy, okay, he’d do anything for his friends and I’m pretty sure he’s already done something really illegal to help me but I told him not to tell me because I don’t want to get him in trouble and just—” She was rambling now. She shook her head to try to get her thoughts together. “Just…he’s been through a lot. More than any of us could understand. And I think he knows what it’s like to be pitied and how much it sucks, so I don’t think it’s that.”  
  
“Then it’s a mystery,” Angelica nodded before closing her eyes and snuggling into the pillow with a yawn. “And it’s time for sleep. Good night, little bug.”  
  
“Good night, Angie,” Judy whispered, slipping off the bed and out of the room. She went to her and Nick’s room, closing the door behind her quietly before slipping into the bed next to the fox, snuggling into his chest. “Hey, Nick?”  
  
“Hmph?”  
  
“Are you awake?”  
  
“Mm hm.”  
  
“Niiiiiiick.” She poked him in the ribs, making the fox wiggle. “C’mon, please?”  
  
“Fluff, we have work in the morning.” One green eye opened to look down at her, clouded with sleep.  
  
“This is important.”  
  
He sighed and opened both eyes, the corners of his mouth pulled down. “What is it?”  
  
“Do you know what’s going on with Finn? Angelica thinks that he doesn’t like her.”  
  
“Really, Carrots? This is what you woke me up to talk about?” The fox rolled his eyes and turned over so that his back was to her. “We can talk about it in the morning, okay? Good night.”  
  
“Nick, please? Please? Please?” She kept poking him as she pleaded with him.  
  
“Oh my god, Fluff!” Nick huffed and flopped onto his back, rubbing a paw over his face. “I don’t know, okay? I don’t talk to him about that kind of stuff.”  
  
“Why not?”  
  
“That’s something that girls do.”  
  
“That’s sexist.”  
  
“It’s true, though.” He turned his head to look at her, reaching out to pull her into his side. “But if it bothers you that much, I’ll talk to him about it. Okay?”  
  
She nodded and nuzzled her cheek into the fur of his chest, satisfied for now. “Okay.”  
  
“Now can we please get some sleep? We do have work in the morning, you know.”  
  
She laughed and leaned up to press her lip to the corner of his mouth, nuzzling the fur on his cheek. “Alright, grandpa. Get some sleep.”  
  
“Grandpa?” Suddenly she was on her back with her fox looming over her, his eyes bright and a wicked smile on his face. “Is that how we’re playing now?”  
  
“Nick!” She pushed at his chest but was unable to keep a giggle from escaping her. “Angelica is right across the hall!”  
  
“Then you better stop yelling.” Then his mouth was on hers as he once again made her forget all about their problems.

* * *

Finn was only a little surprised to see Nick walk into the bar that afternoon without the girls. He looked at the clock before looking back at his friend. “Hey. Little early to start drinkin’, ain’t it?”  
  
“Good thing I’m not here to drink then, huh?” The red fox smirked at him as he took a seat at the bar, resting his elbows on it. “You guys serving food yet?”  
  
“What do you want?”  
  
“Fish?”  
  
Finn glanced back at the kitchen doors. “I could probably get them to whip somethin’ up for ya.” He poured his friend a glass of water then went to put in the order. When he came back Nick was running his paw pad over the rim of the glass, his jaw set. Oh boy, that couldn’t be a good sign.  
  
“Everything okay with you and Flopsy?” Finn tilted his head at him, mouth pulled down with concern.  
  
Nick blinked up at him, shaking his head. “Yeah, no, we’re fine. It’s not about her.” He leaned his elbows on the counter, leaning in towards his friend. “Actually, she’s really concerned about you and Angelica.”  
  
He could physically feel his walls being thrown up around himself as he stiffened, his face setting into the most neutral expression he could handle. “Why would she be concerned about that.”  
  
“You tell me.”  
  
The two foxes stared each other down, their eyes daring the other to break first. This only lasted for a few seconds before Finn huffed and looked away, grabbing some glasses and a cloth to start cleaning. “There’s nothing going on.”  
  
“Then why are you acting so squirrely?”  
  
“Just drop it, alright?” he snarled, slamming his paw onto the bar counter.  
  
But Nick had never been one to back down from him. “Do you like her or something?”  
  
Finn felt his ears turn red and he cursed at himself as he quickly looked away, going back to cleaning the glasses. “Don’t be stupid.”  
  
He didn’t need to look at Nick to know there was that stupid smug grin on his muzzle. Bastard. “Holy shit.”  
  
“Don’t—”  
  
“You DO like her, don’t you?”  
  
“I just said, don’t be stupid.”  
  
“Finn has a crush~”  
  
“I’m going to murder you and everything you love if you don’t shut. UP.”  
  
Nick was beside himself with laughter now, his grin going from ear to ear. “You like Angelica~ Ohhhhh, that’s rich!”  
  
“Will you shut up?!” Finnick growled, glowering at his friend. Though he was seriously reconsidering calling him that now. “It’s not like that! Besides, I can’t like her, it’s wrong.”  
  
“Why?”  
  
He threw his paws up, giving up on cleaning. “She’s a bunny! I’m a fox!”  
  
“And?” Nick rested his chin on a paw, raising an eyebrow at him. “That didn’t stop me and Carrots. Besides, you’ve gone after lionesses before.”  
  
“Yeah, other predators. Not prey. Pred and prey relationships are still looked down on, I’ve seen the shit you and Flopsy have to deal with.”  
  
“We handle it.” The red fox waved his free paw, not moving his chin. “You’re tougher than we are.”  
  
Finn grunted and stared down at the bar. “She’s just…she’s so small.”  
  
“Finn, Angelica is at least two feet taller than you.”  
  
“I’m used to at least three!”  
  
“She’s the tallest bunny I’ve ever seen! You like tall girls!”  
  
“It’s just not right, okay?!” Finn turned around, going to start getting ready for the crowd that was sure to come. He still had an hour before his shift ended. “Just drop it.”  
  
“This is about _her_ , isn’t it?”  
  
He froze. He could hear the malice in Nick’s voice, could hear the snarl on his lips. He didn’t need to ask who he was referring to. He clenched his teeth, tight. “That’s none of your business.”  
  
“I can’t fuckin believe—”  
  
“Don’t.”  
  
“Even after all this time—”  
  
“I’m serious, don’t.”  
  
“You’re still letting her rule your life.”  
  
“I owe her, okay?” Finn snapped, turning his head to glare at him.  
  
“You don’t owe her shit!” Nick growled at him, his paws clenching into fits on the bar and he opened his mouth to say more.  
  
But Finn stopped him, slamming his paw on the counter hard enough to make his jaw snap shut. “Drop. It. Got it?”  
  
The red fox huffed and leaned back. “Fine.” He crossed his arms over his chest, clearly fighting a pout.  
  
Finn sighed and rubbed his paw over his eyes and snout. He felt bad for snapping at his friend, but they didn’t need to get in an argument over _her_ right now. “Look, just…tell Flopsy that I don’t have a problem with her sister. In fact, I think she’s a pretty great doe. And that’s it.” He gave his friend a firm look.  
  
Nick seemed to accept his answer, for now. He nodded before looking at the kitchen doors. “So, am I ever gonna get my food? I’m starving over here.”  
  
Finnick rolled his eyes and hopped down to the floor, heading that way. “Hold your shit, I’ll get it.” He was glad the discussion was over but he couldn’t stop his heart from racing. _Damn it, Flopsy…you just can’t leave it alone, can ya?  
_

* * *

The rest of the week with Angelica went by faster than Judy would have liked. She had missed her sister more than she thought and it was so nice to have her close by. She didn’t have to settle for just hearing her over the phone or seeing her face during MuzzleTime, she was right there to talk to and giggle and gossip with. They had always been close, closer than she was with her other siblings. It was nice to have family close by.  
  
“You sure you won’t consider moving up here?” she asked her at some point, partly joking and partly serious.  
  
“Not yet. But maybe one day. We’ll see if anything comes along to make it worth it.” Angelica had winked at her before dragging her to the dance floor of the bar they had been at.  
  
Her last night Judy wanted to make it extra special. They went to her favorite bar in time to get food and the best priced drinks. She dragged her to the dance floor and requested a few songs they could really move to from the DJ. Angie seemed to be having a good time, laughing and dancing and flirting with a few bucks that were there. But Judy couldn’t help but notice that her sister seemed…tired. Resigned. Maybe a little sad?  
  
She wanted to ask her why but Nick was by her side and distracting her by dancing on her and kissing the base of her ears and the back of her neck. He was getting too good at that. She danced with her fox for a while before deciding she was done for the night. And from the looks of it, Angelica was, too.  
  
Judy lead her boyfriend and her sister over to Finnick, who was sitting at a table they had managed to snag. “I know it’s early, but would anyone object if we called it a night? I’m really tired, Bogo has been running us ragged.”  
  
“And I’m guessing going out every night hasn’t helped, either.” Angelica wrapped her arms around her sister, nuzzling her cheek with her nose. “You should really get some rest, little bug. Nick, why don’t you take her home?”  
  
“What about you?” Judy looked up at the taller bunny, her nose twitching. “You’re not coming with us?”  
  
Angie shook her head, humming softly. “I was going to explore the city a little more, see if I can find a nice park or something. It’s nice out tonight.”  
  
“You can’t go alone! It’s too dangerous!” Judy looked over at Finnick, who had slipped down from his chair. “Finn, will you go with her?”  
  
The fennec started and stared at her. “Ah…if you want me to. If she doesn’t mind.” He glanced up at the brown doe, worrying his lip between his teeth.  
  
Angelica smiled down at him, letting go of Judy and clasping her paws behind herself. “I would be honored~”  
  
“Great!” Nick wrapped his arm around Judy, pulling her into his side. “Then we’ll head home and you two can go do whatever it is you want. Okay? Okay.” He started leading her out of the bar. “C’mon, Carrots, let’s go.”  
  
“Nick! Wait!” She sputtered and pouted when they got outside, pouting up at him. “I didn’t get to say good night to her!”  
  
“You can text it to her or something, and we’ll see her in the morning.” He grinned down at her, a wicked gleam in his eye. “But I have plans for you tonight, and I need to get you home before I’m tempted to act on them right here, right now.”  
  
Her heart skipped a beat and she suddenly felt very warm. She wrapped her arms around his and grinned up at him. “Then by all means, lead the way~”

* * *

“And there they go,” Angelica commented as she and Finnick watched Nick and Judy hurry to their car, giggling and leaning on each other. “They aren’t very subtle.”  
  
“Not at all.” Finn glanced up at her. “So, where do you wanna go?”  
  
She reached up her paws to link them behind her head, her ears up. He tried not to notice how it made her top ride up her torso, exposing the soft-looking white of her belly. God damn it. “Like I told bug, I was hoping to find a nice park to sit in and just star gaze for a bit. Maybe get a few beers to drink while I’m there.”  
  
“Ya know it’s illegal to have open containers of beer out in public, right?”  
  
“Good thing my sister’s a cop who can get me out of it, then.” She winked down at him and his heart skipped. Fuck, what was he doing?? Well, there was no backing out now.  
  
“Lucky for you, I already some in my van.”  
  
“Oh, my hero~ That saves me a few bucks, then.” She stretched then grinned down at him, a paw on her hip. “So, will you join me in drunkenly star gazing, Mister Finn?”  
  
He smirked up at her. “It would be my pleasure, Miss Hopps.”  
  
“McConey.”  
  
He blinked. “What?”  
  
“Hopps-McConey. That’s my last name. From my marriage.” She tilted her head at him. “I know Judy told you about it, she said she did. So yeah…”  
  
There was an awkward silence between them before Finn cleared his throat and jerked his thumb towards where his van was parked. “You wanna—?”  
  
“Yes,” she nodded, and they got in the van and he drove off towards the nearest park. When they got there, they parked and headed into the park, each with a few bottles of beer in paw. They stopped on a bridge, with Angelica leaning against the railing and Finn sitting on it so they were the same height. They each opened a beer and took sips, enjoying the silence.  
  
“The stars here are nice, but not as nice as back home,” she mused, taking a drink from her bottle.  
  
He glanced over at her, watching her throat move as she swallowed before quickly looking away. What was he doing?? “Do you miss it? Home, I mean.”  
  
“A little, yeah.” She smiled grimly. “I miss the atmosphere, not so much the town.”  
  
He heard that, that slight bitter edge to her tone. “Family give you trouble? It’s huge, right?”  
  
“Yeah, there are a lot of us. My family is fine, it’s everyone else that needs to mind their own business.” She huffed and gulped down the rest of the bottle, throwing it over the bridge and grinning when she heard it shatter on the ground below.  
  
He finished his and did the same thing, and they shared a look. Not for the first time he noted how bright her blue eyes were. “I’m sorry about your husband,” he found himself saying.  
  
Angelica seemed a little startled by this, blinking before shaking her head. “It’s fine, really. It’s been three years, I’m not crying over it anymore.” She leaned back, holding onto the railing so her back arched a bit. “Freak tractor accident, is what the sheriff said. He fell off and his foot got trapped beneath one of the tires. He wasn’t able to move before it tipped over on him, and, well…yeah.” Her ears fell down over her back, her mouth turned down.  
  
Finn winced, unable to imagine something like that. It just seemed so cruel. “What was he like?” Why was he so talkative? It had to be the alcohol.  
  
“Bill?” She was smiling again, looking up at the stars. “He was a good buck. Very simple. Poor man couldn’t hold a conversation very well unless it was about farming.” She chuckled and shook her head, her ears coming back up. “But he was very sweet, treated me like a queen. I never wanted for anything when he was around.”  
  
“You two have any kits before he passed?”  
  
“No. It just wasn’t in the stars for us. Though not for lack of trying.” One of her paws traveled to rest on her stomach and he noticed the sadness behind her eyes.  
  
This was something he understood. Very well. “You wanted kits.”  
  
“Very badly,” she nodded, a sad smile on her lips. “I wasn’t like Judy, I didn’t want to be different from other bunnies. I wanted to settle down and start a family.” She glanced over at him. “There’s a certain stigma that follows rabbit couples who don’t have any children by 25. They start asking when you’re going to start your family, why are you waiting, why are you defying nature.” A sneer split her muzzle. “I’m 28 now, widowed, with no kits. I’m sure you can just imagine how wonderful it is for me back home.”  
  
The sad part was, he could. From everything he had heard from Flopsy and from Angelica just now, it painted a clear picture of just how much was expected from does. And it was all bullshit, in his humble opinion. But she seemed like she was really bothered by it. Especially not having any of her own… “My ex…she’s like your sister. She couldn’t have any kits. After she found out, she went a little crazy.” Why was he telling her this, why was he talking about this, what was he doing??  
  
She was looking at him, giving him her full attention now. “Go on. I’m listening.”  
  
Finn took a deep breath, looking up at the stars as he tried to gather himself. He could stop now, he didn’t have to go on. She would understand. But…he bit his lip. He’d been holding this in for so long…and he was drunk, he could blame it all on the alcohol. It wouldn’t hurt, this one time. Just this once.  
  
“Her name’s Bella. Arctic fox. We were together for a year before she found out. She got depressed, the doc put her on anti-depressants. She hated them. I came home one day to find out she had flushed them all down the toilet.”  
  
Her paw was on top of his now, gentle, supporting. “What did she do after that?”  
  
“Started self-medicating with drugs. Cocaine, mostly. It messed her up real bad, made her paranoid. She got mean…violent, sometimes.”  
  
_Flash  
  
“What do you mean, you don’t have any more money?”  
  
“Babe, I told you, the last hustle didn’t go so great, we didn’t make as much—”  
  
Crash!  
  
“You asshole! You’re just hiding it from me, aren’t you?? I swear to god, Finnick—!”  
  
_ “Hey.”  
  
Angelica’s voice brought him back, soft and sweet, her paw on his shoulder now as she shook him gently. “Come back now, sweetie. It’s okay, it’s alright.”  
  
Finn blinked and stared at her, his heart racing and his paws trembling. He cursed at himself, how could he let his mind go like that?? “Sorry, sorry—”  
  
“No, it’s okay. I get it.” She took his paw, holding it in her own. “Bad memories. They get to you.” She gave his paw a squeeze. “I get it.”  
  
“Yeah…I guess you would.”  
  
The two of them stared at each other for a awhile, looking into their eyes and really taking each other in.  
  
“I’m sorry about your husband.”  
  
“I’m sorry about your ex. What happened to her?”  
  
“Overdosed. Can’t take care of herself anymore. She’s in a home, she’s fine.”  
  
She gave his paw another squeeze, a small sad smile on her muzzle. “It’s hard, losing the one you love. Do you have anyone to support you?”  
  
“Yeah,” he chuckled, turning his paw over to carefully, slowly, thread his fingers in between hers. “Your sister. She’s been helpin’ me with it.”  
  
“She’s good about that,” Angelica smiled at him, holding his paw in hers. “I’m still so thankful that you saved her.”  
  
“I’d do it again in a heartbeat.” She smelled so nice and her eyes were shining in the moonlight and god, what was he doing? She was bunny, she was Flopsy’s sister, she was prey, she was—  
  
“You’re beautiful.” It came out of his mouth before he could stop it but he found that he didn’t regret it.  
  
She just stared at him and he swore he saw the shine of unshed tears come into her eyes. He started to panic. “I-I’m sorry, I didn’t mean, I wasn’t trying to, I just—” Fuck, he was rambling.  
  
Angie shook her head, wiping at her eyes with her free paw. “No, no, it’s fine, I’m sorry. I just…” She gave him a watery smile. “That’s the first thing my husband ever said to me. It’s sort of surreal, you know?”  
  
“Yeah…I think I do.” His free paw came up to cup her face, stroking over the fur of her cheek down to her chin. The two leaned closer to each other, able to smell the beer on each other’s breath. His mind was whirling, his heart beating fast once again. Was this really happening? Why didn’t he mind? And how the fuck was he going to do this?  
  
“Are you gonna kiss me or not?” Her teasing tone broke through the silence, making him chuckle softly.  
  
“Woman, be quiet while I figure this out.” And he pressed his lips to hers before she could say anything else.  
  
She was soft, so so soft. And warm. Her mouth accepted his readily, her tongue meeting his with no hesitation. Her paws came up to grasp at his ears softly, while his stayed on her face, combing his claws through the soft fur there. She stepped closer to him so that they were pressed together, lips moving with each other. He could sense that it was going to start getting heated, and fast, and that’s when he pulled away, as reluctant as he felt about it. His paws smoothed down the fur on her face and her ears, trying to gather himself again.  
  
Angelica blinked at him, her expression soft and confused. “What, what is it?”  
  
“We should probably stop now,” he muttered, still not taking his paws off of her.  
  
“Why?” She ran her blunt claws along the insides of his ears and he shuddered.  
  
Finn closed his eyes and counted to five, reeling in his hormones that were protesting against them stopping. “You’re drunk. I’m drunk. I don’t want this to be some drunken mistake.”  
  
“I promise you, it wouldn’t be.”  
  
“I promise you, morning after’s are never fun. Trust me.” He cupped her chin in his paw. “I’m saving you some major embarrassment, sweetheart.”  
  
“Shouldn’t that be for me to decide?” She pouted at him and he almost gave in, but held himself back. No, he couldn’t do this to her, when she was like this. She was drunk and fragile, he wouldn’t take advantage of her. Never.  
  
“How about this?” He pulled her to him until they were nose to nose. “Next time you come to the city—and you’re sober—you come find me and we’ll talk about it. Deal?”  
  
“On one condition.” She wrapped her arms around him, her eyes shining with mischief. “Kiss me again.”  
  
He grinned. “I think that can be arranged.” He pressed his lips to hers and closed his eyes, letting his problems slip from his mind and the rest of the world blur away until it was just the two of them there, on the bridge, enjoying this moment. He couldn’t think of a time in nearly 10 years where he had been happier.

* * *

Angelica didn’t get back to Judy and Nick’s apartment until early that morning, which Judy could tell because she had heard her come in. When she asked about it later her sister had just waved it off. “It was a good night, we lost track of time. Sorry, little bug.” Judy wanted to press her for more answers but they didn’t have any time, since they had to get Angelica to the train station so she could go home.  
  
To her surprise, Finnick met them there. He and Angie shared a look that she couldn’t quite read, but at least they were getting along now. They spoke in low, hushed voiced to each other, their eyes shining. Judy’s nosed twitched as her ears turned towards them. Something was definitely up.  
  
But before she could inquire more the train pulled up. Angelica turned to her sister and pulled her into a tight hug. “Oh, I’m going to miss you, my little bug.”  
  
“I’ll miss you, too.” Judy buried her face in her sister’s dewlap. “When do you think you can come visit again?”  
  
“Hopefully in a month. It’s good for me to get away from home every now and then.” The taller bunny pulled back, grinning down at her sister. “Is that okay with you?”  
  
“Sounds perfect.”  
  
The train blew its whistle and Judy let go so Angelica could grab her bag. The doe gave Nick a quick hug. “Take care of her for me, okay?”  
  
“You got it.” The red fox wrapped his arm around Judy and pulled her into his side.  
  
Then Angelica turned to Finn and the two shared a look and a smile. “I’ll see you next time?”  
  
“Next time.” He nodded to her, his paws stuffed in his pockets and his red eyes half-lidded. But there was something else there…something that Judy couldn’t quite put her paw on.  
  
The whistle sounded again and Angie waved to them before hurrying onto the train. Judy watched as her sister waved from the window of the train, not stopping even as it started to pull away from the station. No one moved until it was tiny in the distance and Judy sighed. “I’m gonna miss her.”  
  
“Me too.” Nick gave her a gentle squeeze, leaning down to kiss between her ears. “She was fun.”  
  
She nodded and looked at Finn, who was still staring down where the train had gone. “How about you?”  
  
“Huh?” He blinked and looked at her, his expression neutral.  
  
“You gonna miss her?” she asked him playfully, tilting her head towards him.  
  
The fennec seemed to think for a moment before a slow, lazy grin split his lips. “Y’know…I think I will.”  
  
“Wait, what?” She blinked at him, her mouth agape.  
  
Finnick laughed and reached up to ruffle the fur between her ears. “Don’t get yourself worked up over it, Flopsy.” Then he started walking towards where they had parked.  
  
“Hey, wait a sec! Finn! What do you mean?” Judy raced after her friend who just laughed instead of answering her questions. Nick was laughing too as he joined them, taking her paw as he lead her over to their car.  
  
“Let it go, Carrots, you won’t get him to talk.” His green eyes were shining, seemingly with knowledge of something she didn’t know.  
  
“Should we be worried about this?” She stared after Finn as he got into his van.  
  
“Nah. I told you Angie would be good for him.” He gave her paw a squeeze. “C’mon, let’s go home.”  
  
Judy nodded, thinking as she go into the car:  
  
_I am so calling Angelica later!_


End file.
